MOVING TO TUMBLR

So this is kind of a big deal (if you're coming here directly, and not from Facebook). I will be moving operations to Tumblr over the next month or so. For a time, I'll post here as well, but eventually, all Blogger operations will cease.

If you have a tumblr and would like to follow me, the URL is www.tophat-gamer.tumblr.com. I'll still be linking to Facebook, so there's that.

One thing is left to be said, I suppose.

SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH. I mean.... yeah.

DMC: Devil May Cry

Before I kick this off, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am NOT a DMC veteran. I know the basics of the story, I've played maybe half an hour of the previous games, but I'm somewhat familiar with the genre. Now, with that off my chest, let's get this review under way!

STORY
In this series reboot, you play as Dante, a young loner resigned to a life of drinking, loose women and occasionally fighting demons who drag him into their dimension (known as Limbo). After learning of his heritage and family, the Dante agrees to aid the Order (known widely as a terrorist group) in the quest to dethrone the Demon King.

The story is interesting for a few reasons. The relationship between Dante and Vergil (their constant one-upsmanship, their squabbling), the way that the heroes of the game are often demonized (ha!) by the rest of the in-game world and and the way that the demon world lurks alongside the human world in a twisted parody of it. They all add up to an memorable narrative experience.

The dialogue may not be Shakespearean in any way shape or form, but the casual nature of Dante's speech often provides hilarious moments. Sure, the swears get thrown around alot, but I think it uses them to good effect, whether showing Dante's own nonchalant attitude or one of the various demons absolute disgust at his existence.

PRESENTATION
The most striking feature, by far, are the visuals presented during the Limbo sections of the game. The standard world is grey and boring, and you know what? That makes sense. But then you're dragged into this often evil caricature of the surrounding human world. And there's bright colours, and messed up architecture. Everything gets a boost of awesome. And it often varies from place to place. A boardwalk carnival becomes an ultra-haunted house and a nightclub becomes a a neon, laser filled, smoke-machine covered realm, accompanied by techno/dubstep beats.

On the subject of beats, the soundtrack to this game is the perfect stuff to get your adrenaline pumping. Hitting the SSS rank combos whilst rocking out to heavy metal or dubstep is unsurprisingly enjoyable, and it fits the tone of the game perfectly.
The voice acting also fits quite well. Tim Phillips plays Dante as a somewhat impetuous smart-ass, but he's surprisingly likeable. The demons all sound suitably monstrous as well, but I have to mention the Succubus as a highlight. She sounds absolutely disgusting (matching the visuals), while ramping the swears up to eleven. Well played Ninja Theory.

I honestly ran into no glitches, which makes me glad, and the animations and visuals are smooth throughout the experience.

GAMEPLAY
At it's base form, DMC is your everyday hack & slash beat-em-up with intermittent platforming sections. And it does this damn well. But it does some pretty cool things control-wise. Let's face it, multiple weapons aren't knew to this kind of thing. But few games make it so easy to utilize your entire arsenal smoothly and effectively.

As the game progresses, you'll obtain around 6 or so weapons. The game helpfully maps two at a time (plus your default weapon) to the triggers. Switching between the weapons assigned to each triggers is a directional button away. This makes it so easy to swap from sword, to scythe, to big ass axe, to demon fists in a single fight. It also allows you to use firearms, mapped to another button. It makes combat very freeform, and easy to implement.

The platforming on the other hand is a bit hit or miss. At the beginning, double jumping across platformings seems very slow and not particularly enjoyable. However, with the addition of special hookshots later on, and an angel boost to clear large gaps, platforming eventually becomes really enjoyable. The main challenge ends up being remembering which hookshot to use and when.

Boss fights are challenging and inventive, but to avoid spoiling anything, that's all you'll get from me.

There's not a whole lot I can find to complain about, gameplay wise. The enemy variation is surprisingly high, and the arsenal you're provided allows for multiple approaches for almost all situations. The only thing I can hold against it is that it takes until the 3rd or so level to really pick up. But that's not really that long. So. Yea.

REPLAYABILITY
The unlocking of additional difficulty levels gives players a reason to come back after completion, but that said, playing the mode where everyone gets one hit killed without having to complete another playthrough would be nice. Aside from that, finding keys and unlocking challenge maps are probably the main draw. And they're pretty fun and challenging, despite being short. A nice diversion.

OVERVIEW
DMC: Devil May Cry is a pretty good start to 2013 for me. The gameplay is fast and smooth, with accessible controls making variation in combat a breeze. Locations are also nice and varied, with the Limbo concept being really cool. The story is pretty standard when you break it right down, but the relationship between Dante and Vergil, the lurking world of Limbo, and the way the protagonists are portrayed as evil-doers to the general public are all cool ideas. It's actually inspired me to check out the other Devil May Cry games. Newcomers to the series, like me, I can wholeheartedly recommend this game. Veterans of the DMC series, I would recommend this ONLY if you're open to a new take on Dante and his world.

Next week, I'll be doing an downloadable game roundup, featuring the Cave, Mark of the Ninja and possibly Retro City Rampage. See you next time!

Lego Lord of the Rings

Today's review is a bit late because, well, this is a one man operation here. And I do have a day job. AAAAAANYWHO. It's no secret that I thoroughly enjoy the lego games. As far as games where the point is to collect stuff to buy more stuff, they're alright in my books. And an educated guess could be made as to what my opinion on Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy is (I love it). So, are the lego games and Lord of the Rings a match made in heaven? Read on to find out!

STORY
Lego Lord of the Rings follows the plot of the film trilogy, from Fellowship of the Ring, all the way through to the end of Return of the King. It's all played out in true Lego style, very funny with lots of visual gags. People familiar with the movies shouldn't expect many surprises here.

PRESENTATION
The first thing I'd like to talk about concerning the presentation of the game is the voice acting. While not the first Lego game to feature full voice acting, this IS the first ADAPTED story to feature it. While seeing Lego figures spout the dialogue ripped straight from the films is quite novel for a while, I must say that I miss the vague pantomime used in previous games. Since it's a story so many have seen before, I think the more visual style of the older games would have worked better in it's favour. That said, the game still features a lot of visual gags, and theres plenty to laugh about here.

Also following on from Lego Batman 2, Lego LOTR features a fully explorable Middle-Earth, from the Shire to Mordor and everywhere in between. The locations all look true to the film, and it dawns on you just how amazing it all looks when you look from the top of Minas Tirith and spot the Black Gates of Mordor, the Saruman's Tower in Isengard and the ruins of Osgiliath. It all feels like one big connected world, which makes you feel truly lost in this world.

Soundtrack-wise, the game pulls heavily from the movies, with epic orchestral scores to fit the setting and scope of the adventure. There's also the more subtle woodwind sections for the "humbler" moments (in the Shire for instance).

GAMEPLAY
This is your tried and true Lego game experience if ever there was one. You progress through levels following the adventures of the movies, using the skills of the party at hand to continue past obstructions. For example, Gimli can smash certain walls, whereas Legolas can shoot arrows and use them to jump his way up to higher ledges.
The puzzles are quite fun, even if it all comes down to knowing which character to use and when.

This all sounds very familiar, so lets move on shall we? The main story often diverges, due to the multiple stories happening at the one time. After the end of the Fellowship levels, you occasionally follow Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, or Frodo and Sam. So that's pretty cool, giving you the option to continue with whichever story you want. However, to stop you progressing too far with certain characters, Sauron's gaze often falls upon certain areas of Middle Earth. So in a cool gameplay meshing with story moment, you must distract his gaze by playing other areas of the game. It's a small feature, but I liked it.

Also different in this Lego game is the expanding inventory. Usually, certain actions would be restricted to different classes of characters, but with the inventory it's possible to construct and use new tools, such as wall shattering axes and hammers, or fishing rods. While it sounds like a good idea in theory, I feel like this detracts from the classic gameplay style of switching between relevant characters. Using all the different characters was always part of the fun of the Lego games.

Collecting is still the name of the game, and getting new characters is still the best part of the game. Aside from that though, there's not a whole lot of variation. But, if you're a Lego game fan, you already knew that.

REPLAYABILITY
Like I said, these games are based around collecting. Collecting studs, Mithril Blocks, Characters, cheats; collect-aholics are in for a real treat. Often areas are locked during story sequences, requiring you to replay with other characters you unlock later. Then once you've collected it all, you've won. That's it.

OVERVIEW
While I love the Lego Games and LOTR, I feel like this sort of missed the mark. I'm finding it hard to figure out if I enjoyed the game more with voice acting, or if it would be funnier in pantomime. The gameplay is the standard Lego fare, but to be entirely honest, I feel like Lego LOTR needs a shot in the arm at this stage. Collecting begins to wear thing after a while.

All of that said, and I still find this game so god damn charming. It's Lego and Lord of the Rings, it's funny and somehow epic at the same time. The world has a sense of epicness to it, and the puzzles are fun, even if they are just using characters abilities correctly. So what more can I say than this? Lego Lord of the Rings sure is a Lego game. And Lord of the Ring's fans who need a new look at this story should take a look here.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed

Today marks the second game to be reviewed for the Wii U on this website, and though it's available on other platforms, I thought it would be a suitable Wii U purchase. So without any further ado, here's what I think of Sonic & All-Stars Racing!

STORY
I suppose I have to give some kind of credit here: at least Sega didn't just tack on some nonsense story about why all these people are together and racing. But there really is NOTHING here in the way of motivation. Just race and race and race. Kart racers can have decent stories (see Modnation Racers and Crash Team Racing), so I don't see why a few minutes couldn't be set aside for writing something.

PRESENTATION
When I reviewed PS All Stars a while back, I mentioned that it's visuals and audio were a love letter to Sony's past. In that same vein is Sonic and All-Stars Racing: Transformed. The characters are all from beloved Sega franchises such as Sonic, Super Monkey Ball and Jet Set Radio Future, and their Karts look just like you would imagine them looking; B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi drives a modified Taxi, whereas AiAi from Super Monkey Ball drives a Banana styled vehicle.

Each Kart's forms (Car, Boat, Plane) all look stunning, and the animations whilst transforming are smooth and fluid. Drifting and jumping all look natural, and theres a nice feeling of speed whilst racing.

The environments all look fantastic, with highlights being the Afterburner level, the Super Monkeyball temple and the waterfront sonic level from Sonic Heroes. Often, the landscape changes mid race, and the tracks continue to look fantastic in motion.

The music and voice acting all calls back to the many franchises on display. Sega fans are going to love revisiting these memories with the many audio and visual nods.

GAMEPLAY
I expected to pick up Sonic & Allstars Racing and find your stock standard Kart racing game, but to be honest, this isn't a cheap Mario Kart ripoff. Sure, everything handles like most other Kart games; you accelerate, you powerslide, you pick up weapons and use them against your opponents. It's all very familiar and it all handles really quite well.

The boost mechanics that come from storing a slide, doing stunts mid-air and driving over boost pads are the secret to winning, and luckily they work well, and they're easy skills to pick up and perfect.

The major difference between this and most Kart racers is the Transforming aspect. Often, you'll come across diverging paths in the track. A lot of the time, this will pass through a transform gate, forcing you to take to the skies or the seas. The Afterburner stage in particular is quite thrilling, as the action follows racers driving along the runway of an Aircraft Carrier, into the sky, then landing on another Carrier, only to drive off into the sea to navigate the waves back to the start.

Piloting through the skies feels natural, as does boating across the waves; each different transportation method is unique, and they all have their advantages\disadvantages. Flying is fast, featuring high handling levels. Sometimes it can be too touchy, and you may find yourself making a few mistakes. Taking to the water, however, is very unresponsive, but the track is often far wider, allowing for more freedom. And driving is pretty balanced comparatively.

My only gripe with this game is that on it's hardest setting, races can be damn near impossible. And to get all the unlock tokens that are available, you NEED to race on the hardest setting. It's honestly really damn frustrating.

The Wii U supplies a few different additions to this game as well. The gamepad can be used as a standard controller, supplying HUD details such as leaderboards and maps while the action is on TV. On the other hand, the action can be completely moved to the lower screen to free up the TV for other purposes.

REPLAYABILITY
This game features a number of game options, from battle modes, chao capture and boost races. If you tire of the standard racing fare, then these will definitely liven things up. Online multiplayer also makes an appearance, and local multiplayer works fine, with 5 players available on the Wii U (4 on TV, 1 on gamepad).

OVERVIEW
Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed is far from the usual Mario Kart clone, with solid racing controls, racers and tracks that pull from beloved franchises and some unique transformed racing features. This game is a love letter to Sega fans. That said, the game is far from perfect. If you want to unlock everything, you're going to need a lot of unlock tokens. Playing on the hardest setting to get these can be downright impossible sometimes. Add to that the lack of context as to why these beloved characters are racing and you have a couple of reasons as to why I find myself thinking of the game as rather difficult to keep coming back to. It's by no means bad, but certain aspects of it just feel like no one even looked at the finished product.

Sega fans and Kart racing pros, get on this. Wii U gamers looking to expand their library should also look into getting this.
Well, that's all for this week. Next week, maybe Scribblenauts Unlimited. I don't know. Who knows? See you next time!

Halo 4

First review of 2012 and it's a big one from late last year that I just hadn't gotten around to finishing until recently. Now, you may or may not know this, but I was never the biggest fan of Halo as a franchise. Aside from Halo: Reach, I'd never really gotten into any of the games. For one reason or another, they don't scratch my gamer itch.
So with the covenant story arc winding down, is this the chance for me to get engrossed?

STORY
As Halo 4 opens, Master Chief awakens on the Forward Unto Dawn as it is attacked by Covenant forces. While fighting off the assailants, the ship's and everyone fighting among them are pulled down onto a mysterious planet. After learning that this is the Forerunner planet known as Requiem. In trying to escape Requiem and rejoin with UNSC forces, Chief and Cortana mistakenly free a long imprisoned Forerunner warrior, known as the Didact, who is hell bent on eradicating the Human race.

To be honest, I think Halo 4's story rushes things a bit too much. It seems like so little time between crash landing on Reqiuem, to unleashing the Didact, to escaping to the UNSC forces; it all just happens a bit fast for my liking. The story does have some high points, however. Cortana, being a rather old AI, is nearing rampancy, which she describes as when AI thinks themselves to death. The tensions between Cortana and Master Chief as her malfunctions increase and her personality frays make for some interesting scenes.

I also found it a little funny that Cortana seems to show more emotion that the Chief, and that, coupled with a question Cortana poses to him midway through the campaign, left me with a bit of a Bladerunner, is-Chief-what-we-think question near the end. I'm almost certain I'm wrong, but I just thought it was interesting.

PRESENTATION
I've never been able to fault Halo's presentation style, and Halo 4 is as stunningly pretty as you've come to expect. There's a nice variation in areas, from Forest areas, futuristic spires, rocky wasteland areas; and it's all very colourful. The only thing that annoys me about Halo 4's visuals is the amount of bloom. I prefer bright games over dark, this is true, but sometimes it's a bit too much. Everything gleams to an impossible degree. It's kind of annoying.

The soundtrack is as Epic as you'd expect for one of the headliners of the gaming medium, usually with ochestral tunes that really get you in the mood to shoot some alien bastards. Voice acting is pretty good, with Cortana's fraying psyche being portrayed about as well as you might imagine. Chief is still the stoic military badass you all (apparently) love, so it's nice to hear him actually get a little angry in certain scenes.

GAMEPLAY
In all honesty, if you've played any of the last few Halo titles before this, then Halo 4 will be as familiar to you as them. You run, you shoot, you jump, you grenade. Everything is as smooth and fluid as you could ask for. What makes this title worth noting are the new enemies and weapons.

The enemy designs of the Prometheans look great with their metallic designs and their vivid colours, but the way they impact on gameplay is the most interesting aspect. Dog-like prometheans scale walls and force you to watch all directions, while Promethean Knights can teleport, as well as spawning flying allies. These flying allies can in turn provide buffs, such as reviving destroyed allies and generating shields for them. Figuring out which enemies to deal with first and fastest is key to surviving, and blowing up these metallic foes feels truly rewarding.

As reward for taking these enemies down, you can get your hands on some sweet Promethean gear. They function somewhat similar to other weapons in the franchise, but have such a nice weight to them that I found myself always trying to keep one on hand whenever I could.

I still take a while to get my head around vehicle handling in these games, but that's probably just me. It's the whole steering with the right analog stick thing. It just feels odd. But, I guess it works.

REPLAYABILITY
Ok, one of the things that has kept Halo afloat in this industry is it's stellar multiplayer suite. While it's not my cup of tea, I do enjoy the occasional Slayer match, or Griffball game, and at the end of the day, that keeps me coming back to Halo 4 as well. On top of that, there's the Spartan Ops episodic co-op missions, so yaaay.

OVERVIEW
Halo 4 accomplishes quite a lot, at least in my eyes. It's the best looking entry in the series, with some awesome new enemies to blast, and some moments that really do their best to tug at your heart strings. Yes, it rushes things alot, and more often than not, the protagonist comes off as more of a robot than a man, but gameplay is still so fluid and fast that, in my eyes, 343's game feels almost superior than Bungie's efforts. It's at least on par with Bungie's best offering (which in my eyes, was Reach). Veteran Halo fans, get in there if you haven't already, and newcomers to the series, this is your time to jump in. A few plot points are poorly explained, but it's eaier than jumping in at Halo 3, that's for sure.

2012: The year in review

This year, I've decided to forego naming my favourite games of genres and platforms, and I've decided to just recount the highs and lows of my year in gaming instead. So let's reminisce, shall we?

To be honest, there were a lot of sequels this year. Not that that's a bad thing, but a little originality never hurt. Games that spring to mind when you say "Good Sequel" include The Darkness 2, Max Payne 3, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Black Ops 2. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved games like Mass Effect 3, but that game in particular didn't add a whole lot in the gameplay department. Story-wise, it's brilliant (apart from THAT unpleasantness.), but the gameplay department sort of meandered.

Assassin's Creed 3 strikes me as another great sequel, with gameplay that has taken a significant leap since the last numbered sequel in the series. Max Payne 3 utilized Rockstar's Euphoria engine to evolve the games dive-y, shoot-y bullet time gameplay into something more. It's setting may have taken it to one of the most colourful locales on the planet, but this game's story is as Noir as they come.

Lego Batman 2 improved upon the original by expanding the cast, as well as introducing something brand new to the series, voiced characters. Previously, Lego games were all slapstick and pantomime; and while that was adequate, having voice actors in the product helps make the games even funnier.

Games like Prototype 2 and New Super Mario Bros. 2 however show very little evolution in their respective franchises, let alone and changes to the formulas at all. Now, while Mass Effect 3 didn't change much gameplay wise, it at least had a great story with fantastic characters. NSMBU and Prototype 2 don't quite have that leg to stand on.

Now, even with the good and not so good sequels that came out, there was still a surprising amount of new IPs hitting store shelves. From Catherine to Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning, to Dragon's Dogma and Lollipop Chainsaw. Now, certain games didn't get the sales that they needed, and chances of seeing a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are next to none. That's a shame, because I really felt the world and it's mythology have a lot of potential. Plus, it's such a bright visual style, it seems a shame to be wasted.

Speaking of bright visual styles, Lollipop Chainsaw certainly provided just that. It gave us some offbeat characters in a world that was more than just a little messed up, and if it had only had the gameplay to back it up, it could have been something great. Unfortunately it's gameplay often felt repetitive, and when it did try to change things up, it fell back on boring, or frustrating minigames.

Fortunately, there were some real winners in the New IP fold, and Dragon's Dogma was one of them. It gave players an interesting world, with gigantic beasts to fight, and their own hand-made Pawn to fight alongside. It also brought some interesting multiplayer ideas to the table, with other users' pawns being able to be drafted into your fold.

Last year was also a good year for some more Niche titles. Catherine, for example was a puzzle game that had you climbing a tower to survive the protagonists increasingly messed up dreams. While often frustrating, the game never felt impossible, and it's unusual story about a commitment-phobe and a crazy love triangle kept me pushing on into the early hours of the morning.

Also making it's way into the spotlight was the small squad-based Strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's imaginative enemies, tactical freedom, and surprising difficulty made it impossible to put down. And it's a fantastic game when it comes to emergent stories. I'll never forget when my girlfriend, Lt. Lauren Annette was gunned down in cold blood. Her sacrifice was not made in vain, however, as my force of soldiers named after close friends annihilated the enemy in retaliation.

Now, I have trouble calling any game inherently bad, but there are definitely some that aren't worth your hard earned money. Medal of Honor Warfighter provided a barebones campaign, filled with glitches and very little else. At the end of the day, I had to recommend you not buy it. Same goes for Asura's Wrath and Lollipop Chainsaw, but at least give those a rental.

I'd like to cap off this post with my favourite games of 2012, and while some that I've already mentioned were great to play, these ones in particular stay vivid in my mind.

FAR CRY 3
People have been calling this Skyrim with guns, and despite having fewer side quests, that's a fairly apt description. Upgradable skills take the form of a tribal tattoo, you hunt to gather materials to make holsters and rucksacks, you can upgrade your arsenal and hold a varied assortment of weapons at any given time. Far Cry 3 gives you the choice on how you want to play, and it's one of the only games that makes any approach seem feasable.
Shotgun running through a stronghold to take out enemies? No worries. Stealthy knife kills to empty an entire camp without raising an alarm. Sure thing. You can even release captive wildlife to set it lose on your enemies. It'd be enough to be given a game where stealth actually works, but Far Cry 3 lets you adequately handle the situation if you mess up.

Add to this, the cast of colourful characters, and you've got one of my favourites of 2012.

SPEC OPS: THE LINE
On the surface, Spec Ops: The Line looks and feels like your average third person military shooter. It's mechanics work well enough, and it's visuals are pretty average. It's the game's story elements, the destroyed remains of Dubai, the rogue american forces, the increasing weariness of your companion's, it all comes to a head and it's an ending that shocked me. It makes me wish I had done things differently, but I doubt things would have been much different.

By the end, you feel as run down as the main characters, and you just want to know if you'll make it out alive. And if you do, will you be the same?

DISHONORED
After seeing alot of the trailers for Dishonored, you'd be excused for thinking it's all about killing people with a big knife. In all honesty, it's the first game I completed without killing a single person. If you pay attention, chances are you've picked up that I'm a fan of both Stealth, and Choice, something another game in my favourites group has as well.

Even if it didn't have such great stealth elements, the world and visual style of Dishonored would still force me to highly recommend this game. But as it turns out, everything it has to offer is stellar. The only complaint I can level about it is that it's too damn short.

So those were my three favourite games of 2012. What were yours? And what are we most looking forward to this year? See you next time!

Wii U. and New Super Mario Bros. U

Well, we're at my final review of the year (GOTY blog notwithstanding) and I've decided to let you all know about the first step into the new generation of gaming, the Wii U! Also New Super Mario Bros U. Because I'll probably only fill a paragraph on the console.

THE WII U
So right out of the box, some of the best things about the Wii U are it's backwards compatibility features. What I mean by that is, not only do your old wii games work, your wii remotes and the sensor bar are also compatible. Backing up all your Wii data is also pretty straight forward, once you find out how to, you know, START the process.

Now, Nintendo has graphically finally caught up to the competition. Games as simple as Scribble-Naughts unlimited and Super Mario Bros U all look surprisingly smooth. It's a big step up from the Wi's capabilities, but on top of this, the wii emulator on the console also looks smoother than it used to, for both Wii games and virtual console games.

The main event, so to speak, is the Gamepad; the tablet with buttons that's been the main selling point since it's reveal. Does it live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. It's not as responsive as an ipad, and it can only handle one point of contact at a time, but generally, the touch screen is accurate. It's implemented quite well in most games, with it being used to add platforms in NSMB U, as a keypad in scribblenaughts, as a live inventory in ZombiU, really, the possibilities are endless. At the moment, I'm most psyched about being able to seamlessly swap play between the tv and the gamepad, but so far only a few games support this.

Is the Wii U a big step up from it's predecessor? Hell yea it is. Do you need one if you already have a PS3 or 360? Well, no. But it does offer new and interesting play experiences, as well as some of the most fun party games I've played in a long time.

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U
STORY
Ok, at this point this is like pissing in the wind. There's a party at Peach's castle, everyone's invited. Then Bowser and the Koopalings show up and shit gets real. Mario, Luigi and two toads get booted a dozen or so worlds away, and they have to work their way back. Is it too much to ask for some narrative, Nintendo? I'm currently replaying paper mario, and while Bowser shows up to be a prick, at least he seems to have some motivations and goals.

PRESENTATION
As I mentioned above, New Super Mario Bros. U looks fantastic. The graphics are smooth and surprisingly crisp, and the visual style is colourful and full of personality.
Unfortunately though, I struggled to spot anything even remotely new to the series here. Sure, theres a flying squirrel suit, but there have been similar powerups (both visually and practically) before.

The music is still great, but it's just so similar to the other New Super Mario Bros. games! Very cheerful, full of life, A Capella styled tunes fill the game, and it always brings a smile to my face.

GAMEPLAY
While the story leaves much to be desired, the gameplay of NSMBU follows the Presentation's suit. It's all very familiar, but it's polished to a mirror shine. Jumping, bouncing, sliding, sprinting,wall jumping; it all feels smooth and fast and fun. Nothing feels better than nailing a sequence of jumps without missing a beat.

Co-Op is still fun, yet frustrating. Platforming in the New Super Mario Bros. multiplayer games feels more like it should be a competitive mode, because I've died more from my co-op partner bouncing on my head, or knocking me off a ledge, than I have due to the enemies or level design!

For the future, it'd be great to have this in as a competitive co-op mode. If it's co-op for fun, then the bouncy ass physics need to be an option, not the standard. It just ends in agony for one (or more) of the players.

The gamepad is utilized for a couple of features here. In Boost Mode, up to 4 players plus one on the gamepad, can play co-op Mario. The catch is, the gamepad player can make platforms, to either help or hinder their friends. Alternatively, playing singleplayer on the gamepad allows for you to use the Gamepad ONLY.

I wish I had more to talk about with this game, I do. But it's just so insubstantial. And what makes it worse is that it's so similar to all those who came before. All it is, is minor tweaks and some polish!

REPLAYABILTY
The amount of secret coins in this game is a decent incentive to play it over and over, but if collectible hunting isn't your thing, the coin rush and challenge modes are there for you. They basically provide small tweaks on the base gameplay, so nothing too special.

OVERVIEW
As I'm sure I said with the last New Super Mario Bros game, I do enjoy these titles. I do. But there's just so little to talk about, especially when each iteration doesn't even add anything to those that came before. At least Call of Duty can boast a new story, or something small like that. What does New Super Mario Bros U add? A platform creating fifth player?.... Woo.

Next time, GAME OF THE YEAR TIME!!!! See ya!

Hitman: Absolution

Those who frequent this blog or know me personally will know I'm a huge fan of stealth gameplay as well as choice in games. So when it comes to the Hitman franchise, you can bet I'm a huge fan. Hitman: Blood Money provided many a fond memory in my gaming history, one such involving a Santa costume and a glass spa bath suspended over a 50 foot drop. So what about Absolution? Does it maintain that memory-making quality of previous installments?

STORY
Absolution picks up with Agent 47 on assignment to take down his former handler, Diana, after she goes rogue and steals agency property. After completing the contract, a letter from his former handler informs 47 of the nature of the stolen property, a girl named Victoria, and the treachery of the man who ordered the contract, Benjamin Travis. After rescuing the girl and going rogue himself, 47 stumbles upon a plot by dubious business-man Blake Dexter, to kidnap Victoria and sell her back to the agency for millions.

Over the course of the narrative, Victoria's true value is revealed, and 47 will kill any who threaten the girl to whom he has committed his services.

Hitman games have always been on the line between serious and goofy, but Absolution seems to completely commit itself to the grindhouse style. Over-the-top, cartoonish villains, contrasted by the stone-faced viciousness of Agent 47. I can guarantee that you've never wanted any gaming character dead, moreso than some of Absolution's baddies.

PRESENTATION
Few games have ever looked as good as Hitman: Absolution does. It's slick graphics present the grimy, gritty world in which 47 inhabits perfectly, and characters receive the same treatment, from Agent 47's trademark scowl and suit, to the giant man-beast Sanchez. Hitman: Absolution is filled with so many cool and interesting characters, that you'll be eager to meet the next one. And murder them viciously.

The soundtrack is suitably atmospheric, but nothing too special to write home about. The use of Ave Maria near the end adds a nice touch, but otherwise, it's pretty average. The voice acting on the other hand is brilliant. 47's monotonous drone is perfect, while Travis sounds like the controlling bastard that he is. Really, the cast sell their parts perfectly.

GAMEPLAY
Now here's where Hitman: Absolution will be divisive. Old fans may be put off by it's simplistic gameplay changes, but newcomers to the series should feel right at home. Now, at it's core, Absolution is still a Hitman game. It's still about picking off your target it any way you choose.

Now onto the changes. Alot of Absolution's levels are very linear, and don't have you assassinating specific targets Some have you trying to get to your target, or escaping an area. I suppose if you took out the mid chapter checkpoints, they could all be seen as one huge level. As it stands though, each chapter is split into four or so levels.

Also added to the formula for this game are the cover system and the instinct system. Now, this might just be me, but I feel that all stealth games need a cover system. It makes it so much easier to know when you're hidden by cover and when you're not. The instinct system on the other hand, I could take or leave. It's reminiscent of Eagle vision or Detective Vision in Assassin's Creed and Arkham City respectively.

It's handy to know where NPC's are moving, or where they're located in the area, or what is special nearby, but overuse of it feels like cheapening the experience. Along with this is the point shooting ability, which is much like mark and execute from Splinter Cell. I can see a lot of players just forgoing this feature, apart from the moment's when using it is actually required.

All these changes aside, Hitman: Absolution still feels like a Hitman game. Scouting the area you're in, finding objects that can be used to form elaborate assassinations, and tailing your mark until the situation lines up perfectly, then BAM! Electrocuted while pissing! Or pushed into a storm water drain! Or crushed by building equipment! Or scorched by sabotaged Barbeque! Or Sniped into a grave so no-one finds the body! It's a nice level of freedom. Also, you can do it all dressed as a chicken.

REPLAYABILITY
The addition of challenges, as well as a more visible score tracker, the ability to choose a level from the list becomes more inviting because, hey, I'll just kill those guys a different way, or hey, I'll just shotgun everyone in the area. Because I can.

But if replaying story scenarios isn't your cup of tea, Contracts mode is there for you. In it, you can create or play custom contracts set with standard NPC's in the story maps. You might have to poison a man's sushi while wearing a chicken suit. Or shotgun a woman while dressed as a samurai. It adds a nice level of replayability.

OVERVIEW
Hitman: Absolution provides most everything I ask for in a game. Functioning stealth, decent gunplay controls, wide maps to make use of, inventive forms of assassination, and a wide variety of choice. Sure, things have changed since past games, but while many will say it's too simple, I say that accessibility is better than having a frustratingly hard game that no one can play. What matters is that the franchises imagination, freedom and brutality all return for Absolution.

Next time, I review New Super Mario Bros U!! And the Wii U!... Unless I finally finish Halo 4.

Far Cry 3

Ok, after many a setback, I'm... well.. back! I've had so many games to try and finish for reviewing that I'm finding it hard to just focus on one. But, one game stood head and shoulders above the rest. And it was Far Cry 3. Let me delve into why exactly this game tickled me in that very special way.

STORY
As the game starts, you're treated to jet-skiing, skydiving, a montage of insane shenanigans performed by yourself. As the camera pans out, it's revealed that your jailer is taunting you with the footage of your vacation up until this point. You are Jason Brody, and the paradise of Rook Island has just turned into hell.

After escaping the insane clutches of the pirate known as Vaas, Brody befriends the island natives and strives to become strong enough to save the rest of his friends. But as he gains strength and progresses along the path of vengeance, will he go too far? Will he ever leave the island as the man that first arrived there? These are the questions that Far Cry 3 asks players.

It's one of those great games of recent days that takes the copious violence of your standard video game fare, and puts a mirror up, forcing players to look at themselves. Now, it doesn't pull this off quite as well as Spec Ops: The Line, but it gives me hope for the future of games stories.

PRESENTATION
One thing you're bound to hear from gamers is that Far Cry 3 looks gorgeous. And that's because it does. The island is a bright, colourful paradise on the surface, littered with temples, shantytowns and strongholds, populated by NPC's who feel like they're actually living in this world. As well as the human denizens of Rook Island, there's a whole menagerie awaiting Brody's machete. Mountain Lions, Tigers, Bears, OH MY! And manta rays. So cool.

Character models are decent, but nothing too special. More fascinating is the amount of detail put into the first person animations, from tumbling after a fall, swimming, climbing, hang-gliding, it feels more like you are the character, and not just a camera attached to him.

The soundtrack is filled with dubstep-styled tracks, jungle drums and tribal chants, which really sells the feel of the island and its residents. The voice work is also really great, with Brody's cast of friends sounding like the spoilt douchebag 20-somethings of today, nailing the stupid tourist in a nightmare situation vibe. Characters like Vaas and Buck constantly remind you of how insane everything is. Also, theres a variety of kiwi accents on display for the NPC's, which is AWESOME!

GAMEPLAY
On the surface, Far Cry 3 is a first person shooter like so many other games. But look beneath that and you'll see it's sublime stealth mechanics, it's super cool skill tree and it's crafting system that borrows a little from Assassin's Creed 3 and Red Dead Redemption.

The basic gameplay is most definitely the shooting. Guns feel good to use, they have a nice weight and power to them. Especially the Desert Eagle. Goddamn is that thing powerful! The cover system works nicely, with just a button push seperating you from crouching behind a wall and aiming over it. The weapon variety is fantastic, from pistols and assault rifles, to flamethrowers and a recurve bow. It all plays into how you want to attack a situation.

The stealth mechanics are nicely implemented; it's easy to know when an enemy can see you, and there are systems in place to allow you to distract guards, as well as take them down silently. Takedowns in this game are awesome, as well as super violent. And the skill tree allows you to customize those to your every whim. Whant to stab a guy and silently take his friend down with a thrown knife? Go ahead. Want to steal your victims weapon after and shoot the rest of his patrol? Do it! Aerial assassinations and ledge takedowns all visit from Assassin's Creed too.

Now, as I mentioned, there's a skillt tree as well. The most noticable (and cool) part of it is that with each skill, Jason's arm Tatau gains a new symbol. With each skill learnt, Brody get's inked up like a badass!!!

The hunting system is fantastic, and having to use animal hides to upgrade wallets, loot sacks, holsters and ammo packs encourages the use of the hunting system.

Now Far Cry 3 is not perfect. But to be honest, aside from a few glitches, the biggest issue I found was with the enemy AI. Sometimes it can act as though it grew up drinking paint, other times it's einstien with a gun! But, it's only on rare occassions that the inconsistency of the AI is shown.

REPLAYABILITY
With strongholds to attack, Radio towers to scale, animals to hunt, bounties to cash in and minigames to play, Rook Island has a digital fuckton of things to do. And if you finish with that, theres a multiplayer mode. Though I'm not a huge fan, it feels like it was tacked on to tick a corporate box.

OVERVIEW
Here's the rundown: Far Cry 3 has excellent visuals, entertaining characters brought to life by immaculate voice acting, solid gunplay, satisfying stealth play and a living breathing world that you can get lost in for hours. It's not only high quality, it's also value for money, as I can see myself spending hours more exploring the island.

Next week, hopefully Hitman: Absoloution. If not that, then maybe a Wii U review? WHO KNOWS?! See you next time!

Playstation Allstars: Battle Royale

I know what you're probably thinking. Oh, I'm not going to play that, it's just a Sony rip off of Smash Bros, I'm not supporting plagiarism. Well I have some news for you. PS All Stars sets itself apart from its obvious inspiration. But, I'm getting ahead of yourself. Allow me to do my thing, and I'll let you know what I think of it.

STORY
Playstation All Stars doesn't seem to have an overall canonical story to call it's own. However, across the wide array of franchises and characters, each have their own reasons for competing in the battle royale. For instance, Dante goes in search of demons to hunt, whereas Jak and Daxter follow the trail of a new source of eco. As well as this, all the characters are paired with another in a sort of rivalry. It's adds an interesting spin to each Arcade mode playthrough.

Aside from that though, there's really no explanation of why the battle royale exists or why exactly the main nemesis has brought the combatants here. What is here are interesting spins on the cast's individual stories, and not much else.

PRESENTATION
To sum up PS All stars in a few words, I'd call it a Love letter to Playstation. The character roster is vast, and each character remains true to his or her own franchise, even with their various outfits. Drake has ouutfits from all three main series games, and all his moves pull straight from them too. For instance, most of his moves involve guns; one even brings up a piece of cover, adding a little bit of Uncharted's signature play style.

The music also draws from all this amazing source material, from the orchestral scores of God of War, to the heavy metal of Twisted Metal. It really does well in utilizing the great properties that have come together for this project. In fact, each characters voice is spot on, from Cole McGraths gravely voice, to Kratos' godly roar.

Last but not least, the environments have a cool feature where they take two properties and mash them together. You get sweet mash ups of things like Uncharted and Bioshock, God of War and Patapon, and Resistance and Ratchet and Clank.

The biggest downfall of its presentation is in the Arcade story mode. Each character begins and ends with a bunch of stills with a voiceover, while midway through they have an in engine cutscene with their specific rivalry. I feel like more could have been done with this, if only to flesh out a proper storyline here.

GAMEPLAY
Now we get down to the meat of it. Is Playstation Allstars Battle Royale fun? Hell yeah it is! Is it a shameless rip off of Smash Bros.? Well, it's obvious that Nintendo's mascot brawler was inspiration for it, but PS Allstars differentiates itself enough to carve out a name for it in the fighting game scene.

In Battle Royale, your main goal is to build up your AP meter so you can perform supermoves to score KO's. Performing moves successfully builds AP, pulling of bigger combos builds higher levels of AP, and falling off the stage or getting hit by stage hazards can cause you to lose AP..

Each character is a joy to play, with their own pros and cons. Characters like Kratos, Raiden and Nariko are heavily melee focused, while Drake and Radec play it better from afar. The roster is nicely varied and their moves are all nicely pulled from their respective franchises.

Probably the best feature of the gameplay is the risk/reward aspect of the Super meter. Do you use your level one and aim it to score the maximum amount of KO's? Or do you build up the level 3 super and activate it for a guaranteed multi-KO move? It all depends on how well you know the character's super moves, and just how quickly you can build up the Super Meter. It's a fantastic dynamic that keeps fights tense and interesting.

Now I would have preferred a larger roster, but as DLC characters have been announced (and will be free for the first week or so) it's not such a deal breaker. Otherwise, I find the gameplay to be immensely enjoyable, and a whole different beast to Smash Bros.

REPLAYABILITY
PS Allstars may not be as similar as one may think to Smash Bros, but it certainly has the fantastic party mentality that Smash has. Even without that, it's a fun game to practice and becoming amazing at character after character is truly rewarding.

OVERVIEW
Playstation Allstars is a brilliant game. I've been wondering for years why Sony didn't bring out a Smash Bros clone, and then when they finally do, it's actually quite different to the mascot brawler we all love. That said, it's simple to learn, difficult to master combat system, tense risk/reward Super Meter feature and it's amazing cast of characters and list of levels make it a joy to play. Playstation veterans should get in on this, as should fighting game fans. Smash Bros fans may find something they aren't expecting, and they may just like it.

Next week, it's looking like Hitman Absolution. Or maybe Far Cry 3. Or New Super Mario Bros. U. My Wii U is my new best friend. It hands down has the best Youtube capability out of any item in my home. And I'm not talking about it's Youtube app. I mean the browser version.
Anywho, see you next time!

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

First of all, I missed out on the last couple of weeks because I was on holiday. I was amazed that I actually got a review posted at all with Assassins Creed 3. Now that I'm back, however, it's time to jump straight in with Black Ops 2. Yes, it's that time of year again: will Black Ops just repeat the successes and shortcomings of its predecessors or will it go above and beyond to bring some much needed freshness to the somewhat stagnant franchise.

STORY
Straight off the bat, Black Ops II surprises with it's story, set in a surprisingly believable near future with a somewhat sympathetic, yet easy to hate villain. It's the first CoD I can remember that tries to tackle some of the horrors and mistakes of war without making it feel like it's just there for shock value.

Set in the year 2025, you control David Mason, son of Black Ops' protagonist Alex Mason, as he and his JSOC squad try to capture the leader of Cordis Die, Raul Menendez. During the campaign, you also play as Frank Woods, and Alex Mason in flashback missions, detailing some of Menendez's past and his involvement in the Mason family history.

The historical jumping around could have been terribly confusing, but it's handled well, and the story isn't affected badly by it. It's by far the best CoD story since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

PRESENTATION
Despite running on the same engine for so many years, Black Ops 2 manages to still look quite impressive. The colour range seems to have increased however, with one particular mission in the Cayman Islands standing out in my memory, just because it was so bright and colourful. Way better than the usual grayish brown levels.

Character animations remain smooth and clear, and facial animations in particular have increased in quality; it's most noticable in cutscenes, with wider ranges of emotion being shown than in any previous game in the series.

The adrenaline pumping score keeps up with the action on screen and the theme (composed by Trent Reznor of NiN fame) is pretty cool too. All in all, Blacks ops 2 is presented quite well. I'm still not sure that it's not time for an engine upgrade.

GAMEPLAY
As with every year, Call of Duty has delivered once again with some of the most solid gameplay mechanics in the FPS genre. If you've played a game in the franchise previously, then it'll all be very familiar. The action runs at a smooth 60 fps, theres a wide variety of loadouts to customize, and the AI is intelligent enough to provide a decent challenge.

The biggest change this year, at least as far as the campaign goes, is the level of customization. This year, you're able to customize your loadout before each mission, allowing you to try out a new piece of kit in each assignment. And the gear is all really cool, from target finding scopes, to collapsible stocks, to silencers, to scopes that provide an almost radar like view, showing you heat signatures through walls. Near future tech is sweet!

Continuing on the theme of choice, there are branching paths in the campaign, as well as multiple endings, all depending on the choices you make, conscious or not. Some choices are binary, allowing you the chance to kill or capture a target. Some are less voluntary: allowing a target to escape, instead of killing him and securing his hostage.

So to sum up the big changes to the CoD formula, I would say it's all about player choice. What gear you take into battle, how the story is affected. It's all up to you.

MULTIPLAYER
Instead of replayability, for this I'd like to mention the Multiplayer. The maps are nicely varied, the guns are cool, everything works as you'd expect. The big new feature is called Pick 10, and I'd like to praise it's inclusion. Creating classes with preset fields (main weapon, secondary, 3 perks, etc) is all well and good, but true customization is available when you can go without certain things, so you can add more features to your class. It allows for true personalization and flexibility with the multiplayer.

Add to that some robust zombie modes, where teams travel around multiple maps in search of clues, or grief each other, and you have more than enough reasons to come back to Black Ops 2.

OVERVIEW
If Black Ops 2 had only improved it's narrative, I'd recommend the hell out of it. As it turns out, however, it does so much more than that. It puts the focus on you, whether in the campaign, or the multiplayer. It puts itself in your hands and says "go wild". And you will. And you'll love it.

Next week, Playstation Allstars Battle Royale. Or Halo 4. Or Hitman Absolution. I don't actually know.

See you next time!

Assassin's Creed 3

I'm posting this from an IPhone, so we'll see just how well this goes. I played and finished AC3 in the few days I had before I went on holiday, so here's the review. Now be damn happy you're getting it!!

STORY
Assassin's Creed 3 picks up The story of Desmond Miles, former abstergo/Templar captive, now fully-fledged assassin, as he and his companions hunt for the key to stopping Earth's impending doom. To do this, Desmond relives the memories of Revolutionary assassin, Connor Kenway as he battles Templars in America's revolutionary war.

As a non-American, I must admit that my knowledge of the American Revolutionary War is limited at best. To the end of education, I found AC3 to be surprisingly helpful. For entertainment value, I strongly believe that it holds up against AC2 (the previous strong story in the franchise). Connor is a genuinely likable hero, a man who fights for what he believes is right, even calling out the founding fathers for owning slaves, whilst fighting for their freedom from British rule. Achilles Davenport provides the stern father figure for Connor, and their disagreements are filled with true emotion.

Speaking of father figures, AC3 has a fair share of big twists, the least of which involves Haytham Kenway, the heroes father. I won't spoil any more than that, but theirs more than enough in the games plot to keep you guessing.

PRESENTATION
Assassin's Creed has always been known for detailed settings and bustling crowds full of realistic looking citizens. AC3 takes the ball and runs with it, making 1770's New York and Boston come alive with people and animals alike. Suprisingly, however, the Frontier is the best environment in the game, with beautiful forests, winding rivers and wildlife to populate it. Helping the environments is the AnvilNext engine, which provides the game with seasonal weather changes that really top off the look of the game.

Voice acting in the game is great as always, with Nolan North reprising his role as Desmond, playing the now accepting hero exceptionally well. Connors voice helps to convey his strict adherence to his personal code of honor, and Achilles' has a very world weary (and fitting) voice.

The soundtrack is pitch perfect, ramping up in the massive battles with huge orchestral scores including pounding percussion, and then contrasting in the lonesome frontier with sparse music played with guitars and flutes. It all adds to the lone hunter feel of Connor, as the stalker of prey, and the wild beast on the battlefield.

Occasional pop-in of graphics and some rare poor voice syncing occur, but aren't prevalent enough to detract from the otherwise stellar presentation.

GAMEPLAY
The last big evolution in Assassin's Creed's gameplay was with Assassin's Creed 2. Coincidentally, with the first NUMBERED sequel since then, we also have the biggest departure in gameplay.

The previously smooth combat has been revamped to show off Connor's wild style of fighting. Brand new animations show off his vicious nature, while a simpler combat system means faster, and often more satisfying, battles. Instead of swapping between offense and defense, Connor only has one stance. From here, he can attack with primary and secondary weapons, break defense or counter. Four buttons, four possible actions.
Adding to this, after you counter, you can throw your enemy, disarm him, or kill him with his primary or secondary weapon. It's a simpler approach to combat, and like Batman: Arkham City, it's easy to learn, but difficult to master.

World traversal has also improved, but with less change, and more additions. The odd thing about The AC series so far, is that you can run all over walls and buildings, but climbing a tree can't be done. All that has changed. Tree running works surprisingly well, and you'll be seeing paths through the trees in no time. It makes a huge deal when the ground is under 4 feet of snow, which also impacts on traversal. Otherwise, building free running is just more of the same, with a little more shine to it.

With last year's Revelations, Ubisoft added the Den Defense mechanic, and it fell a bit short. This year, they're trying their luck with Naval Combat. This time, however Ubisoft have hit the jackpot. The controls are tight, the visuals and water mechanics are amazing and the mission constraints are nicely varied as well.

Hunting mechanics factor nicely into the economic systems, much like in Red Dead Redemption. It all works in favor of the living breathing world of AC3.

REPLAYABILITY
Once the main story is done, there are a hundred different things to do. Hunting Clubs, Frontiersmen and Boston Brawlers all offer side missions, while there are also courier missions and assassination contracts to take out. Once all this is done, you can go hunting, find Captain Kidd's treasure, liberate areas of New York or Boston and find Ben Franklins Almanac pages. There is so much to do in this game.

OVERVIEW
I can't speak highly enough about this game. It's highly reminiscent of one of my Favourite games of all time, Red Dead Redemption, whilst retaining the qualities that make Assassin's Creed such a unique property. With so much to do, there are most definitely things worth talking about more than others, but there's so much gold in this game. Assassin's Creed fans, go in with the warning that there are some big changes here.
I may have found my game of the year.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter

This is probably going to be my last review for a while, as I'll soon be going on holiday for a few weeks. Just thought I'd give you all a heads up.
Now, I'm hoping that I'll be able to post an Assassin's Creed 3 review before I get back, but if I don't, I promise I'll be making up for it when I get back.
As for right now, I'll be reviewing Medal of Honor: Warfighter. So let's get this started!

STORY
Medal of Honor: Warfighter picks up an undisclosed amount of time after 2010's reboot of the franchise, and follows the actions of Tier 1 operators as they try to foil a terrorist plot involving public bombings using high explosives. There's also a subplot involving one of the main operators, "Preacher", and his efforts to rekindle his troubled marriage. When his former professional life intersects with his family life, he must make a choice as to whether he can live without Tier 1, and the ability to protect his family.

The plot tries to differentiate from it's action movie inspired brethren (CoD), and you really get the sense that the guys at Danger Close have a deep respect for the Tier 1 operators. It's admirable, but it doesn't stop the story having problems. One thing about CoD campaigns is that you always know where you are, why you're there, and when in the timeline you're there. MoH:W doesn't achieve this, as the dates of each mission is set at various intervals in the past, and the destination of each mission is only ever mentioned once or twice. It makes the game seem like one big blur.

Adding to this is the lack of memorable or likable characters. No one has their own personality. They're all the typical sort of bro's that you might expect, and no one has any recognizable or relatable traits.

PRESENTATION
The most blatantly obvious thing about Warfighter is that the sound design is amazing. Guns sound like they pack a punch, while explosions and war-machines sound exactly as powerful as they should. Voice acting is rather bland on the other hand, but chances are you won't even hear any dialogue over the concerto of war as it is.

The graphics in engine are quite good, with lighting effects in particular something to be amazed with. Character animations are good, but the models themselves could use a bit of work. The landscapes are all fairly varied, with Flooded towns in the Phillippines contrasting with Terrorist inhabited caves in the Middle East.

Overall, the game looks pretty great, and it sounds fantastic. The cutscene graphics however are really impressive. The only problem is that certain characters fall pretty deep into the Uncanny Valley. The characters are so close to looking human, without looking perfectly human, that it looks a bit weird. Still impressive though.

GAMEPLAY
So we all know how FPS games work these days, right? You run from cover to cover, popping out to shoot enemies in some twisted version of whack-a-muslim, all the while following your invincible team-mates. MoH does little to differentiate from the formula, but when it does deviate, it really shines. For example, one mission requires you to chase down a sniper who has killed a contact that you were watching. This involves chasing him through the busy roads and back streets of Pakistan. It's a standout moment of the campaign, and to be honest, they're some of the best driving controls I've used in a First Person Game.

Other standouts include play metal gear solid in a car, as you try to avoid detection while escaping Dubai, chasing down a VIP on foot through OpFor bases as you dodge bullets and return fire, and hunting down a terrorist cell one by one like an American Military Batman.

Otherwise, the gameplay is pretty standard, and it works well enough. Guns are more modular, and the ability to switch between iron-sights and scope, full auto and semi-auto is nice. It gives a nice amount of freedom when approaching situations, but the fact that you can only approach from one direction kind of defeats the purpose.

Player characters have a nice sense of weight to them, as vaulting over cover and sprinting/sliding all feel and look natural, and adds a much needed sense of realism to it (if only to differentiate it from it's competition).

That said, MoH is very short, and most of the time, it follows the same pattern as every other modern war shooter today. When it strays from the path, it achieves moments of brilliance, but it doesn't do it often enough to make it worth playing the whole 5 hour campaign. Yeah. It's short.

REPLAYABILITY
MoH: Warfighter doesn't have a lot to keep people coming back for more. Yes, it's gameplay is solid enough to make me want to play it once or twice more, but at the end of the day, it only has multiplayer. And while it's a decent multiplayer suite (if you liked the last installment's, you'll enjoy this), it doesn't scratch the surface of what some other games are doing.

OVERVIEW
With a fairly weak and hard to follow story, unrelatable characters and a mostly by the books approach to gameplay, Medal of Honor doesn't do a lot to make me want to suggest it as a full price retail purchase. I mean, it does have its pros. The sound design is brilliant, the flexibility with most weapons is a welcome addition, and at certain points, the campaign becomes really amazing.

So if you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for Shooter Season 2012 to hit, then by all means, pick this up. It's not a bad game, but it misses some opportunities to claim the FPS throne. Mad shooter fans will get a kick out of this, but keep in mind my little niggling complaints.

Next week, HOLIDAY TIME! Hopefully, sometime over my break, I can get an AC3 review away. I hope to see you all reading again soon!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

My busy weeks of gaming before my holiday (for my 21st birthday) continued this week with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. While it's no secret that I don't like RTS games very much, XCOM: Enemy Unknown struck me as far more personal experience. And so here we are!
Lets find out just how good XCOM EU is, shall we?

STORY
The premise of XCOM is that alien invasions have started popping up all across the world, and you are positioned as the commander of a multinational special ops force known as XCOM. The super secret Council of Nations tasks you with finding out the reason for these invasions, while also trying to keep all these involved nations calm.

As far as narratives go, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is pretty barebones. What makes it special is the emergent storytelling that comes with this kind of game. By naming and customizing your soldiers, you get a personal attachment to them, and thus their exploits and failures in combat make for great "watercooler" stories. You'll be sharing stories with mates about how your sniper held the line as your squad retreated with a VIP, or how your Heavy cleared the room before any enemies could get a shot away.

This may just be me, but I felt it difficult to just carry on when a squad member died. I'd always go to the memorial and take a moment to reflect on their exploits. Just a suggestion, you may find it more fun to name your squad after friends, family and coworkers. Alternatively, favourite musicians, authors, you get the picture.

PRESENTATION
There's no denying that XCOM isn't the most graphically amazing game. That said, the visuals do a decent enough job of establishing the mood. Tension is a constant feeling in XCOM, and the dark, rundown environments sell this really well. The remnants of vapourized civillians etched into the ground, the wrecked cars lining the streets, the fires that light the environments; they all add to the feeling of hopelessness and the tension.

The music also plays a large part in this. Generally, there are alot of high pitch string arrangements when the action is just on the horizon. When a bunch of aliens is encountered, a disjunct piano melody plays, and it amps up the creep factor. And then when the battles pick up, the music follows suit. It's all an effort in adding to the mood, and it works.

The character models are somewhat cartoonish, but visually interesting, and the voice acting is surprisingly good for the characters who have multiple lines of dialogue. The Council representative particularly speaks with an air of authority that sells him as the person you need to impress with your efforts.

Presentation-wise, there are a few things I have to complain about. The first thing is that, despite a large variation in map LAYOUT, the actual locations don't really vary. For example, I was tasked with stopping an alien abduction in Sydney, Australia. Later on, I was sent to stop an abduction in Leon France, and I could've sworn they were the exact same place.
Second, while your squad members don't talk ALOT, there's no accents that you can choose. Which is weird, because you've got a multinational team. A small gripe, but it did bug me.

GAMEPLAY
XCOM's gameplay is split into two halves. The first is the bigger draw of the two; the turn-based combat. If I was to compare it to something, I'd compare it to tabletop gaming (ala Warhammer). You take turns to move your squad and shoot with them, adhering to each class's specific rules. For example, some heavies can fire for their first move, and not have it end their turn. Snipers are unable to shoot after moving, support soldiers have smoke grenades, etc.

Making a well rounded squad full of Heavies, Assault soldiers, Support Soldiers and Snipers is truly rewarding, and having squad members survive long enough to become Colonels is awesome, because they absolutely destroy everything in their wake. It's like hitting the level cap in an RPG, with all your chosen skills.

The combat itself is surprisingly fun. It's also difficult. Lining up a shot on a flanked enemy and taking him down feels just as good as getting a headshot in an FPS. That said, care needs to be taken. Death is permanent, and one wrong move could prove disastrous. While flanking to get that killing shot, you could leave yourself open to an enemies killing shot.

The difficulty does ramp up a fair bit, as enemies become more dangerous and harder to kill as the campaign goes on. Add to that, the fact that losing an experienced veteran can be difficult to recover from, and the game can seem a little unforgiving.
If it's your first time playing, I would take the first playthrough as a learning experience, to make your second playthrough better.

The other half of XCOM revolves around building up your base, performing research and managing your resources. You're able to build labs to gain more scientists, workshops to gain engineers, satellite uplinks to be able to monitor more nations with your satellites. Your scientists allow you to research new ideas, and your engineers allow you to create and upgrade these ideas. This all flows into the combat half of the game. Then, the results of combat affect your international panic levels. This then flows into the funding available to manage your base.

The systems that make up XCOM all flow into each each other, and it really gives you a good look at the big picture. While many will probably give up once the difficulty sets in, I think the strategic, cinematic battles and base management will entertain both strategy fans and action fans alike.

Before I finish, I'd like to bring up a few small niggling complaints. Line of site is hugely important in this game, and MOST of the time, it's easy enough to figure out who you can and can't see. Occasionally, however, an overwatch shot will see you try to shoot through a wall. And that may actually work. Then sometimes you can physically draw a line of sight between two combatants, and you won't be able to shoot. It's weird, and I do hope it gets patched out.

REPLAYABILITY
XCOM: Enemy Unknown strikes me as the sort of game I could play over and over. Since the scenarios are randomly generated, it makes the game highly replayable. The option to play ironman mode (which restricts loading), the varying difficulties, and the multiplayer mode all give you value for money.
Speaking of the multiplayer, it gives you and a friend a chance to go head to head, alien vs human. It seems like more of a diversion than a fully fledged game mode, but it's fun enough.

OVERVIEW
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a refreshing game. It's graphics aren't stellar, and it's probably not at the top of anyones wishlist, but you'll get few experiences like it. The tense atmosphere, the strategic, thinking-man's combat, the detail in the base management; it all combines to make a game that requires care and thought, while still delivering action-packed sequences to get the adrenaline pumping.

It's gameplay is solid, with a few small cracks, and the story (while barebones) is enough to frame your own stories with your own soldiers. It makes XCOM feel like YOUR organisation. You are the Commander.

So, next time, I'm thinking Pokemon Black/White 2. See you next week!

Dishonored

This week, I was flooded with new games to review, as well as finally getting my hands on all of the GBA Pokemon games (jealous?), so the fact that I have a review ready to go is amazing to myself (especially when all these new releases hit shelves on Thursday). So, let's get on with it!

STORY
Dishonored takes place in the steam-punk, alternate world Victorian-London-esque city known as Dunwall, where the population is being overrun by plague infested rats. Those who have succumb to the plague become weepers; zombie-like beings who weep blood and attack uninfected citizens.

In this world, you control Corvo Attano, former royal protector to the empress and her daughter. After an assassination attempt sees him framed for regicide, it's up to Corvo to regain the missing heir to the throne and take revenge on all those who put you in prison. Along the way, Corvo enlists the help of a band of Loyalists, and a mysterious being known only as the outsider.

It's refreshing to be presented with such a unique world that feels as though it could all be real, while still maintaining an air of fantasy and wonder. It's citizens all feel like a product of this cursed City, and there are some really memorable characters to meet, such as Slackjaw and Granny Rags.

There's really no complaints that I feel I can level against the story told here. A lot of games use stories purely as the scaffold for the gameplay, but Dishonored has a great story to tell, and it compliments the gameplay, instead of being tacked on.

PRESENTATION
Dishonored has a great visual style that fits somewhere between Fable and Bioshock, with character models being stylized, but not quite cartoony. The level design is intelligent, allowing multiple approaches to any given situation, while still making sense visually.
The stages all have a victorian-london vibe to them, while some also have a very industrial look as well. There's a distinct feeling of hopelessness and ruin in the City, and it really sells the state of Dunwall.

The voice acting is superb in Dishonored; all characters, main or supporting, sound like real people who exist in this depressing society, from the creepy Granny Rags, to the snooty aristocrat Lord Pendleton. The game also features such talent as Susan Sarandon and Chloe Grace Moretz.

The music is fittingly tense, and picks up nicely once your cover is blown. To describe it in a word, I'd call it Tension-Building (it's one word If I hyphenate, so shut up).

GAMEPLAY
Dishonored's gameplay is based around Corvo's quest for redemption, which is presented as a series of attempts in getting rid of anyone who had a hand in his framing. Each of the game's missions is set in a mini sandbox, complete with multiple approaches to the mission, side missions and collectables.

The game provides you with a vast array of weaponry with which to take on the evils of Dunwall. Mini-Crossbows, Swords, Pistols, Proximity Mines and Grenades are all provided to make mincemeat of your enemies. That said, however, you're completely able to do a non-lethal run, with the use of strangle-holds and sleeping darts.

Corvo, as a player character, feels fast and fluid, due to his own personal agility, and the special powers bestowed upon him by the Outsider. Being able to jump, mantle and sprint across the mini sandboxes is a perfectly acceptable form of traversal, whereas you could also Blink (teleport) across the rooftops in a stealthy approach.

That's the beauty of Dishonored's gameplay. While many games will attest to being all about player choice, very few deliver. Dishonored does however. Do you spend all your Runes on powerful abilities like the Wind blast or killer swarms to kill all who stand in your way? Do you upgrade your blink and dark site to disappear and reappear across the city without alerting anyone?

Now most games would give you at least that much choice, but Dishonored also gives you multiple ways of dealing with Key targets. Non-Lethal playthroughs are truly non lethal, and Dishonored rewards you for exhausting all options. Do you poison your targets drink? Wind blast him out a window? Or do you brand him a traitor and have him shunned by the community, effectively neutralizing him.

It's one of the best games I've seen, not only when it comes to player choice, but also when it comes to first person stealth. It's clear when you're being seen by enemies, and just because one guy saw you, doesn't mean all his mates will too.

In all, Dishonored's gameplay is a good mix of simple stealth, solid combat, robust upgrades that tie in with your choice of play style, and the great level of choice that's on offer. Occasionally the controls will make you accidentally expose yourself to guards, but that may have been partly due to user error. My bad.

REPLAYABILITY
Dishonored isn't the longest game, as there are really only 9 main missions. The lastability of this game comes from the sheer amount of choice available to you, as far as how you approach these missions. Multiple variations exist on each mission at different aspects. How do you infiltrate the area? How do you make the assassination? How do you escape? Plus there are side missions that offer new information relating to each mission.

For example, I went for a non lethal first playthrough. Next time, I intend on cutting a bloody swathe through Dunwall. And it'll be awesome!

OVERVIEW
I want to cut straight to the chase here. Dishonored is shaping up to be my favourite game of this year. I love a great stealth game, and Dishonored is just that. It's also a solid First Person Action game. It's also a decent RPG. Add to that, the fact that the tale of Corvo Attano is an interesting one, and the City of Dunwall is a unique, living, breathing place to play.

The depressing, run down visuals really sell the feeling of desperation that the citizens of Dunwall have to be feeling, but the visuals are stylized enough that it doesn't just become grey and boring. It truly is a great game. It's an example of the best that games can be in this day and age. The choice, the solid mechanics, the story; I found it all to be quite superb.

Next time, I'll be reviewing XCOM: Enemy Unknown. See you next week!

EB GAMES EXPO 2012

Well well, another year's EB Expo is done and dusted. This year, I thought I'd make a short list of games I truly enjoyed, or games that really surprised me, and write little bit about my experience with them. So here were my best in show, in no particular order!

ASSASSINS CREED 3
So I played two different demos of Assassin's Creed 3, one at the Ubisoft booth, and one at the Wii U area. Now, the Ubisoft Demo took place during a mission for Connor to find a map fragment, a mission that can be found via the new naval gameplay system (allegedly). During my short time with the game, I saw Connor climb a cliff face, take enemies down silently with a number of different weapons, and got a feel for him as a character (via his new animations).

If the new animations are anything to go by, Connor is far more aggressive. His free running style seems a lot more fluid and natural, and the revamped combat system tries to keep you on the offensive.
It takes a little bit to get used to, but I found the new combat system to be fun and fast, as well as a refreshing change from the previous titles.

Now, the second demo took place on the sea. When I first heard of the Naval Battles, I had mixed feelings. Fearing that it would be a repeat of the tower defense, I hoped I would be proved wrong. And this demo has sold me on it. Lining up a power barrage of cannons and sinking an enemy is immensely satisfying, as is the ability to place one great shot into their munitions stack (and causing a sweet explosion). This experience was marred slightly by a few bugs that messed up Connor's combat animations after the boarding sequence. If we attribute these issues to the early build Wii U, then the Naval demo was surprisingly satisfying.

PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS: BATTLE ROYALE
While I would have joined most gamers in calling PS All Stars a shameless Smash Bros clone, after last weekend, I don't think I can. There are enough differences to say that, while still definitely influenced by Super Smash Bros, Playstation All Stars is it's own game.

The first difference is in the scoring system. While in Nintendo's fighter you score by getting opponents off the screen, PS All Stars forces you to hit enemies with your characters various supermoves. These supermoves are built up by wailing on the other combatants as hard as you can.
Another difference is in the fighters actual moves. Instead of having plain attack moves and special moves (based on their respective series), each character has 3 attack buttons that are completely unique to them.

Overall, the game is slightly more difficult to get straight into than it's Nintendo brother, but mastering a character feels that little bit more rewarding. The characters and their animations look great, as do the mash-up levels. I'm really quite excited for this game, as I've been wishing for a Sony Character Brawler since the very first Smash Bros, and it's shaping up to be something fantastic.

Aliens: Colonial Marines
At the Expo, 2K games came to showcase Aliens: Colonial Marines in the form of a number of multiplayer face-offs between Expo-goers and pro-gamers, marines Vs. Aliens. Instantly drawing similarities between it and Left 4 Dead, theirs a distinct tension in the air.

I gotta say, despite being up against Pro-Gamers, our team went suprisingly well, only losing by 4 kills. The gameplay is smooth and easy to pick up and go (assuming you've played a shooter before) and the teams are surprisingly well balanced. The marines get a nice array of weaponry, including assault rifles and shotguns, while also having access to motion trackers to keep an eye on any unseen foes. On the other hand, however, the Aliens can leap impossible distances, stick to walls, bleed acid, and kill quickly with melee attacks. The balancing factor here is that in a frontal assault, the xenomorphs are weak as hell.

This game is so atmospheric, with the dark and eerie hallways, the scrambling noise of Xenomorphs, and the beep of your motion tracker as an unseen enemy draws every closer. It's a whole lot of fun, and perfectly captures the essence of the Alien movies.

RAYMAN: LEGENDS
If there was any Wii U title to make me believe that the new Nintendo console was worth a buy, this was it. I loved the last Rayman game, believe me. The art style, the music, it had so much pure soul. Rayman Legends appears to be no different.

The platforming is smooth and quick, with intelligent level design and near perfect controls (using a wii U pro controller), Rayman Legends is as good as, if not better than, its predecessor. The biggest addition, however, is Murphy, Rayman's new green winged friend, who is controlled by the player holding the Gamepad. Using it's touch screen, you're able to manipulate certain platforms or walls, and using it's gyroscope, you can tilt hazards any way you choose. It works great, whether you're helping your friends, or griefing them.

Also worth a mention are Rayman Legends' more rhythmic levels, which make me think of a mix between good ol' platforming fun, and guitar hero style button timing. And the soundtracks are great!

FAR CRY 3
Given multiple attempts at a 15 minute open world demo for Far Cry 3, I'm left with one clear thought on it. Far Cry 3 is beautiful. Unlike Far Cry 2 (brown and desperate Africa), FC3 looks unbelievably good. The colours are bright and powerful, with lots of bright blues and greens. The tropical setting is amazing, and the fact that the setting is also open world makes me want to explore every inch of it.

Also there are tigers. And goats. And sharks. And fucking Manta-Rays!! The world of Far Cry 3 feels alive and breathing, and the gameplay fit's it perfectly, as your character's movements feel swift and wild, as well as accurate and easy to use. First person driving returns, and it feels a lot more natural than last time around, while hang-gliding and ziplining gives you multiple ways to travel the island. The variety of weapons is also great, with bows, pistols and various arrows to shoot from your bow.

GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION
This one's going to be short for one reason. We all know that the God Of War games provide a certain level of quality gameplay. So here's my biggest praise of the GoW:A demo. IT LOOKS AMAZING! The visuals are so breathtaking and colourful. That is all.

BLACK OPS 2
Ok, so we got to try the multiplayer of Black Ops 2, and while it's mostly the same, one thing really felt amazing for me. The pick 10 class customization allows for deeper personalization of classes, and lets you ignore items you normally don't use. Only knife? Take out your two guns and explosives and spend the extra on more perks! Want a sniper rifle and a shotgun, but no equipment? Go right ahead!

So that was just a small taste of what we saw at the EB Expo. I hope when these games come out, they're just as amazing for you guys as they were for me when I got a sneak peek. See you next time!

Borderlands 2

For those of you who haven't been reading these reviews for long, let me summarise my thoughts on the original Borderlands: not enough variety, no story, not that fun single-player.
So obviously, I wasn't a fan. But let it never be said that I don't give second chances. Since then, I played another notable 2K Published game. Look how that turned out (It was Duke Nukem: Forever, by the way). So now on with the Borderlands 2 review! Will 2K redeem themselves in my eyes?

STORY
Borderlands 2 picks up 5 years after the opening of the vault in the first game. Since then, a rare alien element known as Eridium has spread across Pandora, and Hyperion's owner, Handsome Jack, has almost conquered all the land in order to mine as much of it as he can.

The game begins with a failed assassination attempt on the four main vault hunters of this game. After being dug out of their snowy grave by Claptrap, the Vault Hunters make it their mission to take revenge on Jack; meeting a familiar cast of characters along the way. Also guns. A lot of guns.

The fact that Borderlands 2 actually has a coherent story, with a clear enemy to focus your efforts on, makes it infinitely better than the previous game already. Whether you're playing by yourself or with friends, you'll always have the goal of shooting Jack in his smarmy face leading you on like the proverbial carrot on a stick.
Not only does the story exist, but it's actually pretty good, with lots of twists, interesting characters and interesting locales, as well as a plethora of side stories.

It's still not quite Mass Effect, but it's an epic improvement on Borderlands. And it's really funny. It's almost Portal level in it's humour.

PRESENTATION
Like Borderlands, Borderlands 2 stands out from the competition with a cell-shaded visual style. Unlike it's predecessor, however, Borderlands 2 features a wide array of colours and a variety of different environments, keeping the visual style of the game interesting. In the same way, it's characters are all visually distinct an interesting, from the volumptuous Moxxxi, to the short, funny looking Claptrap, and interacting with these characters is equally interesting.

The soundtrack is very dubstep/electronic/rock filled, and fits the "shoot things in the face" mentality of the game. It's not too serious, but it gets you in the right mood for the gun filled violence to come.
The voice acting is pretty good, with characters like Handsome Jack coming across as both a maniacal douchebag AND a suave leader at the same time. Overall, the major characters you interact with are endearing, in part due to the perfectly cast voice acting.

Finally, the games animations vary. In combat, enemy animations are varied and smooth, whereas in conversation, characters seem very rigid.

GAMEPLAY
It's here that I found quite a large departure from Borderlands. I mean, yes, there are some substantial improvements that I've already mentioned, but the gameplay also gained a massive overhaul.

For starters, the new classes all work really well. The turret flinging Commando, the dual wielding Gunzerker, the phaselocking Siren and the cloaking assassin all have their own roles to play, but they're all surprisingly diverse. Their individual skill trees (of which there are three each) allow for multiple different approaches, from support, to offensive play styles, and defensive tank play styles. Playing in a group or playing solo are both viable as you'll have enough skills to combat any situation.
I found that this was more intuitive than the original Borderlands, as that often got quite overwhelming when playing solo, no matter how I approached the situation.

In keeping with the boost in variety seen in other areas (the characters, colours and locations), the combat also keeps you interested by throwing a larger amount and variety of foes your way. From the standard Skags, to Badass Bullymongs, to suicide robots and robots that make other robots.

There's also a larger emphasis on the changing statuses of enemies. For example, bandit Goliaths get enraged when you shoot there helmets off, causing them to attack their allies. On top of that, with each person he kills (friend or foe) he can level up, making him more difficult to kill. At the same time, it makes the experience and loot drops better. It adds a layer of strategy to Borderlands that didn't really exist before. The way that enemies interact with each other also keeps combat varied. Do you take on the legions of EXP Loaders and GUN Loaders, or do you take on the Constructor robot to stem the tide.

With all these great changes or additions to the formula that made Borderlands a favourite for so many (other) people, the base game still remains fairly unchanged. Unchanged, but refined. The gunplay feels smoother and faster, the rpg elements allow for multiple approaches to any fight, and maybe most important of all, the inventory system is vastly improved. Being able to sort by weapon type, mark junk items or favourite items and compare weapons easily makes the loot-fest undeniably fun. This coming from someone who isn't all that into loot-fests. While these aspects are good, the RPG and shooting aspects have been done better elsewhere. But, not every game has to be CoD or Dragon Age: Origins, and Borderlands 2 reinterprets these genres in a perfectly functional way.

HOWEVER, the fun of the loot-fest is diminished somewhat, by the claim of "bajillions of guns" that Gearbox have totally made good on. The problem here is, you'll often come across a randomly generated weapon that makes everything else you have look like crap. OK, fair enough. But then you take down a particularly difficult boss, and the loot is very mediocre. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but that makes the prospect of an upcoming boss battle that much less exciting.

The driving is still kind of shitty too. Just saying.

REPLAYABILITY
As of writing, I'm on the verge of finishing the main mission. I'm level 30, which is only just over halfway to the level cap. That took at least 16 hours to get to. Now add to that the advent of new game plus, allowing you to hit that level cap. Then after all that, you can always try out a new character. Then there's the multitude of challenges and trophies/achievements to get. And side quests. There's a lot of replay value here.

OVERVIEW
So, I didn't like the first Borderlands. It was repetitive, boring by yourself, and the only up side was that the gunplay was pretty good. There was no story to keep you going and alot of the game was just boring. I must say, Borderlands 2 has improved in almost every aspect. The addition of a central villain with which to focus your efforts on, as well as an interesting story surrounding a cast of fascinating characters keeps me wanting to play Borderlands 2. The loot-fest, RPG and shooting gameplay all work well, but have been done better elsewhere. As a combination of these elements, however, it's great.

In all, Borderlands 2 is what a sequel should be. It takes what the original was lacking and added to them, while taking the parts that sort of worked and polishing them to a mirror shine.

If you enjoyed the original, I would assume that Borderlands 2 would be more of the same fun for you. If, like me, you disliked the original, then I still wouldn't write this one off. It may not be the best game out this year, but it may be the best value for money you'll get.